The production designer of The Matrix has revealed where the strange green code came from

In the movie franchise, the falling green symbols - or "digital rain" - depicted on a black background is the code which makes up an alternate reality, an illusion designed to keep the population enslaved.

Neo, played by Keanu Reeves, gradually comes to learn that he has a key role in freeing humanity from being enslaved by the machines who created the Matrix.

But Simon Whiteley, who acted as a production designer, has revealed the sinister code actually came from his Japanese wife's recipe books.

That's because he used half-width Japanese kana characters - and their mirror images - to create the symbols, along with Western Latin letters and numericals.